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gaged in similar activity. Williams was eventually extradited to a third country. Also questioned, but not arrested, was Casper Flier, a Dutchman and convicted drug-traffickerwho had at one time specialized in the illegal trade of paper used in the forging of Belgiumarrests tied currency and securities.
to Iran-Contra scandal From child sex ring to Murder, Inc. No sooner had these arrests exposed a level of corruption by D�anAndromidas that many believed would lead to the highest political levels, than the governmentannounced the arrest of the alleged mur derers of Cools, followed by over 20 more arrests. Among Belgium has been rocked for thelast month by theuncovering those arrested were two former ministers, Alain Van der Biest of the pedophile ring responsible for the murder of four young and Guy Mathot,who were also leaders in the Belgian Social girls, and by the arrest of 20 people in connection with the ist Party of the Francophone region of Wallonia. Cools's son, 1991 killing of senior Belgian politician Andre Cools. But the Liege-based attorneyMarcel Cools, called for the resigna this is only the tip of the iceberg of an extensive political tion and investigation of former Belgian Justice Minister Mel criminal complex in Belgium, which can be described as the chior Wathelet, now Belgium's judge at the European Court Belgian equivalent ofItaly's infamous "Propaganda-2" scan of Justice, for leading the obstruction and cover-up of an dal in the early 1980s.Indications are emerging that this politi earlier investigation. That earlier, 1991 investigation, had cal-criminal complex has international connections, includ identified the same suspects now under arrest, and had been ing to the Iran-Contra operations of George Bush and Oliver led at the time by the same investigative judge who is now North during the 1980s. overseeing the Marc Detroux pedophile case. On Aug. 17, acting on information given by local citizens, The population generally has not been ready to accept the Belgian police rescued two young girls .he1d captive by the government's version, that there is only a very minor link pedophile Marc Detroux. It was soon discovered that Detroux between the two cases. was heading a pedophile ring. Within days, authorities un earthed the bodies of four young girls. While the case began The international dimensions as yet another horriblechild sex ring scandal, it soon expanded Some people in Belgium, and, no doubt, in Great Britain into proportions that have overturned the population's faith and the United States, would like to confine this scandal in their own government. Withintwo weeks, over 30 people, within the borders of Belgium, even if it means breaking including police and judicial authorities, were arrested. the country apart between its Flemish- and French-speaking Among thQsearrested,was JeanMichel Nihoul, who, op halves. Nonetheless, tremendousevidence points to a scandal erating out of an officeon the prestigiousA venue de Louis in with international dimensions. downtown Bruss�ls, coordinatedthe financial side of both the Cools was shot to death after he had threatened to reveal pedophile ring, as well as a stol�n car ring, with which De vast political corruption schemes involving arms deals, drug troux was also discovered to have been involved. Nihoul was trafficking, and illegal financial operations. Among these said to have financedseven properties in Belgium from which cases was the Augusta helicopter affair, which last year led Detroux operated. He also had a villa somewhere in the Carib to the resignation of NATO Secretary General Willy Claes. bean. Some of the proceeds from these and other operations, The Belgian press reports that prosecutors are trying to found their way into foreign bank accounts and real estate. A develop a case around the theory that the motive for killing Belgian intelligence source told EIR that Nihoul had been a Cools involved the corrupt concerns of only the small circle target of investigation as early as 1973, for financial fraud, of conspirators now under arrest. But, is that enough to money laundering, prostitution, and other crimes. explain the vast network of corruption that appears to reach At this time, Nihoul was close to right-wing politicians of into the highest levels of the Belgian judicial system, if not the Christian Socialist Party, whose activities were tied to the government?It has been alleged that the murder is linked the World Anti-Communist League. In the 1980s, he was to a scandal involving kickbacks to the Walloon Socialist involved in an ecological cult called Eco Vie, whose leader, Party by the Italian helicopter manufacturer Augusta, which Jan Williams,. a Canadian who founded the cult in France, was supplying helicopters for the Belgian Army. That scan was thrown out of the country when the group was found to be dal was also linked to similar corruption scandals around a cover for criminal activity, including pedophilia. Williams former Italian Prime Minister and Socialist Party head Bet ended up in Belgium, where . Nihoul allegedly financed his tino Craxi. But that scandal came to light only after Cools's purchase of a castle outside of Liege, where he became en- assassination, and was exposed by the same judicial authori-
42 International EIR September 27, 1996
© 1996 EIR News Service Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission strictly prohibited. ties responsible for the cover-up of the earlier investigation. Contra-linked arms deals, such as one called "Operation The investigative magistrates have been busy looking Demavand" into kickbacks to politicians from weapons purchases to their own governments, and calling it "political corruption." The 'Mendez case' Nonetheless, these same arms companies were involved in Liege, where Cools was political boss, is one, of&urope's illegal arms sales to warring Iran and Iraq, which were arms-producing centers. Fabrique NatioIWe (FNj.Wlocated initiated with the full backing of the Reagan-Bush and there. The nearby Bierset airport, of which Cools was a Thatcher governments in the 1980s. In many cases, these member of the board, waS repeafe.dl�nientione
EIR September 27, 1996 International 43 arms dealers from Texas have used Belgian end-user certi land International Trade Services, de Carmoy, with the back ficates, and have had offices in Belgium, since it is much ing of Kissinger Associates, was engaged in financing mas easier to do a lot of this from Belgium than from the sive arms shipments to Iraq. In 1988, six months before the United States." end of the Iran-Iraq War, de Carmoy became co-chairman of Societe Generale, representing the largest French sharehold 'Cools knew too much' ing of the time. In this capacity he traveled several times to ConcerningCools, a former executive of a leading British Baghdad on businesss related to the substantial amount of arms company with subsidiaries in Belgium, the expert was dealings Societe Generale had with Iraq, including large mu more specific. "You have to understand that Andre Cools nitions sales by PRB. De Carmoy later sold PRB to the British knew Gerald Bull, who was assassinated outside his Brussels firmAstra Holdings, whose board included directors close to home in 1990. [That case] has never been solved," he said. the Thatcher wing of the Conservative Party. Bull was the director of Space Research Corp. (SRC) in Bel Another major arms-trading firm was the tobacco com gium, and his assassination was attributed to theIsraeli Mos pany, Casalee. Owned by John Bredenkamp, a British citizen sad. Bull was the builder of theso-called supergun for Saddam who learnedthe art of sanctions-busting when he began smug Hussein. But this same source said, "Don't believe the story gling weapons in the 1960s for Ian Smith's Rhodesia. While that the Israelis killed him. That supergun project was really based in Antwerp, Casalee was a major supplier of munitions only a red herring.Bull was involved with much more import to both Iran and Iraq throughout the 1980s. By the end of the ant and financially lucrative projects. He was killed because 1980s, Casalee moved his base to Britain, where Bredenkamp he knew too much." is said to be within Margaret Thatcher's close circle of friends. Bull's SRC was involved in a range of projects, including Today, Casalee has been taken over by American Interna sales of artillery pieces, munitions, and even the construction tional Tobacco Co., whose board of directors includes Law of entire weapons and munitions plants for the Iraqi arms rence Eagleburger, former secretary of state in the Bush ad industry. These projects not only gave him access to relevant ministration, who has returned to his roost at Kissinger information, but in many cases involved leading British, Associates. American, and Belgian firms. His assassination occurred at the time President George Bush was building his Gulf War More mysterious deaths coalition against Saddam Hussein. That coalition was built Cools's murder was not the last of the mysterious threats over a significant number of dead bodies of those who knew and deaths. In February 1995, a small Brussels shopkeeper the real secrets of who was arming Iraq-Le., that it was received over his fax machine a document that appeared George Bush and Margret Thatcher's own governments. to deal with "negotiations to rebuild the Iraqi armaments In addition, Societe Generale de Belgique, the largest industry," according to Italian press reports at the time. The semi-official Belgian holding company with interests in vari bewildered shopkeeper turned the fax over to the authorities. ous Belgian munitions plants, was part of the vast number It was later discovered to have been mistakenly sent from of arms and munitions companies dominated by British and the offices of one Alfons Puelinck, who was put under arrest. American companies linked directly to policy circles of the It was also revealed that Puelinck was involved in the Au administrations of Bush and Thatcher. PRB, the Societe Ge gusta kickback scheme, but his accomplice was a Syrian nerale's munitions producer, was partof the internationalmu arms dealer, Mohammed Bashi, with whom he was partners nitions cartel exposed in the late 1980s for selling billions of in the company Kasma, and whose Swiss bank accounts dollars' worth of munitions, also from NATO stocks, to Iran were said to have been used to transfer the kickbacks. and Iraq. Many of these shipments took place withthe cooper That same year, Belgian Gen. Jacque Lefebvre died, ation ofthe notorious East German trading company, IMES, officially declared a suicide. In 1993, in Italy, Sergio Castel headed by Stasi agentAlexander Schalck-Golodkowski. The lari, was found dead. Castellari had been a director of Italy's latter's commitment to communism and the Warsaw Pact, did Public Industry Ministry. Although also officially declared not prevent Oliver North from buying AK-47 assault rifles a suicide, that decision was reversed one year later, when from IMES for the Contras. his death was discovered to have been linked to the Au The integration of the Belgian side of this operation with gusta affair. Great Britain was underlined by one British arms manufac Despite attempts to separate the Cools and the Augusta turer. "When I was in the Brussels office of Societe Generale, corruption cases from the pedophile case, one British arms I felt I was in the British Colonial office," he said. "I guess it dealer told EIR, "I don't think this pedophile affair is going goes back to Cecil Rhodes, when the Belgians, with their to be confined to Belgium. Remember, there are at least two colonies in Africa, cooperated so well with the British." This leading British politicians who had been involved in arms source pointed to Herve de Carmoy, a French Trilateral Com deals and are pedophiles." Although names were not men mission member, who, in the 1980s, was the international tioned, he said thatat least one of them was currently holding director of the British Midland Bank. Operating through Mid- a very high position in the European Commission in Brussels.
44 International EIR September 27, 1996